Can we find ways to get more value from what we spend on health and social care for the elderly? http://t.co/AcIgeSkeGl
— Richard Smith (@Richard56) June 22, 2013
Richard Smith, former editor of the British Medical Journal, author of the selected tweet this week, asks: "Can we find ways to get more out of the costs of health and social services for older people?"
This tweet links back to his own blog where we can read about his mother’s case, a lovely woman who has lost her immediate memory and is drinking too much alcohol. The point is that his mother is no longer able to live alone, but is very stubborn and refuses to leave her home, so he and his mother are forced to make a pilgrimage to the health and social services in order to obtain the case assessment: diagnostic tests, questionnaires, specialist consultations, etc..
At the end, Richard Smith concludes that all the professional activities that have happened have contributed very little to the real needs of his mother. Finally a person from a voluntary agency who visits her each day was the one who actually provided solutions to their everyday life problems.
At the end of the post, the former editor asks: "Perhaps for these lonely older people, we need community revitalization rather than so many professionals."
Jordi Varela
Editor
This tweet links back to his own blog where we can read about his mother’s case, a lovely woman who has lost her immediate memory and is drinking too much alcohol. The point is that his mother is no longer able to live alone, but is very stubborn and refuses to leave her home, so he and his mother are forced to make a pilgrimage to the health and social services in order to obtain the case assessment: diagnostic tests, questionnaires, specialist consultations, etc..
At the end, Richard Smith concludes that all the professional activities that have happened have contributed very little to the real needs of his mother. Finally a person from a voluntary agency who visits her each day was the one who actually provided solutions to their everyday life problems.
At the end of the post, the former editor asks: "Perhaps for these lonely older people, we need community revitalization rather than so many professionals."
Jordi Varela
Editor
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